Posted on 09/10/2014 11:47:04 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Students at the rally pose to reflect their anti-police brutality slogan, ‘hands up, don’t shoot’.
Students of all races gathered around the Student Union in solidarity Wednesday against police brutality and racism in reaction to the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri last month.
Together Josh Odam, Christopher Young and Danielle Laroque organized the event.
Odam a sophomore studying political science and legal studies said, “This rally is something that hits home for me because it could have been me, or my brother or my cousin. I don’t want to go to any more funerals with black mothers and black sisters crying because they lost someone to violence and racism. No more.”
“As a black community, we are like one body. It’s been a frequent occurrence, these shootings of unarmed young black men,” said senior sociology student Laroque about why she decided to become involved. “This is a way to show solidarity, to come together and make a change. That’s what we do as student activists.”
When asked why he was involved, economics major Young said, “Black lives matter. That’s all I really have to say.”
Participants wore a piece of red clothing in remembrance of Brown and listened as their fellow students took the floor to tell personal experiences of racism. Cheryl Grandison-Clark, a mathematics major, read an original poem.
Faculty members were present as well, including Armanthia Duncan, a sociology instructor, and Cameron Cox of Residential Life Services. Both spoke to students on the importance of standing up for justice.
Student Government Assoication President Vinayak Rao also attended the rally.
“I came because our Secretary of Diversity Josh Odam was organizing it and we wanted to come by and show our support,” the president said. “As a person of color and an under-represented minority, I think it is important to come together and promote equality. This is what it’s all about.”
While the majority of attendees were from UMass, students came from other parts of the Pioneer Valley to show solidarity.
Rally organizers led the crowd in chanting phrases like “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” and “Ain’t no power like the power of the people because the power of the people don’t stop” and “No justice, no peace, no brutal police.”
Throughout the rally, moments of silence were held in honor of young black people killed by police.
One student speaker shouted out, “I am Emitt Till, I am Trayvon Martin, I am Mike Brown.”
Laurie Senat, a junior studying sociology, attended the rally Wednesday and said, “I feel very passionately about this issue, being Haitian-American and experiencing police brutality through my family. My cousin Gregory was shot and killed by the police, so this is dear to my heart.”
“I hope the UMass campus knows that we are here and that they hear us, and they know we are strong people,” she added. “When we are passionate about something they will hear us.”
Following the rally outside the Student Union, students marched through campus to the Malcom X Cultural Center where a “We Need to Talk” meeting was held.
Didja ever consider NOT committing a bunch of felonies??
ROFL!!! Thank you, I needed that!
“I don’t want to go to any more funerals with black mothers and black sisters crying “
Then when will he be attending a protest about black on black crime?
Did sociology student laroque ever hear about Chicago? Detroit? DC?...
Black thugs murder 100 times more innocent black men than all of the cops in America, where is the solidarity? the change?
It's all BS just because the cop happened to be white.
Do cops lives matter?
Too right they matter! If a cop is at risk, I want him or her to be able to defend themselves by any means necessary, up to and including deadly force.
Recruiting cops is (hear me out) in a lot of ways like the military. Finding people who want to do it, are capable of doing it, and who don’t let it go to their heads. Or their wallets as well, in the cop’s case.
The one thing I would like to see is every officer, deputy and highway patrol wearing one of those cameras on their uniform. Want to bet that 99.9% of these Sharpton bait incidents would evaporate if that happened? The money saved from one of these interminable trials (and the rioting and looting) would cover the cost for a state.
And .... I’m stupid. I forgot the /sarc tag on the post you were replying to.
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